Bomb Threats and Bag Checks: Model Legislation to Address Venue Safety and Liability
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BOMB THREATS AND BAG CHECKS: MODEL LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS VENUE SAFETY AND LIABILITY EMILY GUTHRIE* INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 441 I. RECENT VIOLENT INCIDENTS AT EVENT VENUES AND TORT LIABILITY ..................................................................................... 442 A. Recent Violent Incidents at Event Venues ............................ 442 B. Tort Actions Against Venue Owners and Promoters ............ 447 II. EXAMPLES OF EXISTING VENUE SECURITY LEGISLATION AND MODEL CODES ............................................................................. 450 A. Existing Venue Security Legislation ..................................... 450 B. Existing Model Venue Safety Code Sources ........................ 452 III. FIRE SAFETY LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS: A RESPONSE TO TRAGEDY ................................................................................ 456 A. The Station Nightclub Fire .................................................... 457 B. Model Code and Legislative Responses to the Station Nightclub Fire ........................................................................ 458 IV. PROPOSED MODEL VENUE SECURITY LEGISLATION ................... 462 V. REASONING BEHIND THE MODEL VENUE SECURITY LEGISLATION ................................................................................ 466 A. Composition of the Board ..................................................... 466 B. Public Hearings, Review, and Amendment ........................... 467 C. Capacity ................................................................................. 468 D. Designation of Roles ............................................................. 469 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 470 * Juris Doctor candidate, Belmont University College of Law, 2020; B.A., Belmont University, 2013. Thank you to Professor Jeffrey Usman for your guidance, as well as the amazing Belmont Law Review editors who helped to prepare this note for publication: Dean Adams, Stacia Burns, Eric Donica, Kiley Hoppe, Madison Wait, Kelly Walker, and Austin Wells. Thank you to my husband, Michael Aurand, my family, and Amy Rauch for your encouragement. 440 2020] VENUE SAFETY AND LIABILITY 441 INTRODUCTION Safety at live event and music festival venues has become a matter of increasing concern in recent years. Concerts end abruptly and are evacuated due to security concerns, such as bomb threats.1 Security checkpoints including metal detector wands and bag searches create bottlenecked crowds as attendees express concerns about the number of security personnel available.2 Concert promoters and venue owners try to find a balance between keeping concert expenses low while trying to train security personnel and secure multiple building entrances.3 Artists cancel meet and greets with fans due to security concerns.4 Large venues install greater security measures, such as metal detectors, and raise ticket surcharges while smaller venues weigh the costs of installing security devices versus the risk of violence when the crowd numbers are in the low hundreds or mainly consist of young teenagers.5 As concert attendance numbers grow and concert security issues become evident and more frequent, how can event venue owners and promoters keep attendees and performers safe in a uniform manner? This Note offers state legislatures a proposed model venue security act that addresses safety issues arising from venue violence. Part I of the Note addresses the problem of violence within event venues and festivals and common concerns highlighted by such incidents, such as artist safety, event attendee safety, and crowd safety during evacuations. Part I also examines the emergence of tort actions by concert attendees against venue owners and 1. See Indiana Police Say Bomb Threat Halted Rascal Flatts Concert, AP NEWS (Aug. 14, 2018), https://apnews.com/74c80c525d8941c49e5b7d94fd6e4e4f [https://perma.cc/F9HJ- 4GKQ]; David Lindquist, What Prompted ‘SaFety Concern’ and Abrupt End to Rascal Flatts Show Remains Unclear, INDYSTAR (Aug. 10 2018, 1:13 AM), https://www.indystar.com/ story/entertainment/music/2018/08/10/abrupt-end-rascal-flatts-concert-leaves-indiana-fans- puzzled/954328002/ [https://perma.cc/RQ3H-JZCR]; Variety Staff, The Roots’ SXSW Concert Canceled Due to ‘Security Concern’, VARIETY (Mar. 17, 2018, 9:15 AM), https:// variety.com/2018/music/news/the-roots-sxsw-concert-cancelled-due-to-security-concern- 1202729636/ [https://perma.cc/9QJW-MFBE]. 2. See Concert Goers Wait in Lengthy Lines BeFore Beyonce & Jay-Z Show, NEWS CHANNEL 5 NETWORK (Aug. 23, 2018, 9:42 PM), https://www.newschannel5.com/news/ concert-goers-wait-in-lengthy-lines-before-beyonce-jay-z-show [https://perma.cc/U89Z- 3SCG]. 3. See Ray Waddell, Security Experts on the ‘New Normal’: Challenges and Logistics of Concert Safety in the Wake of Orlando Shootings, BILLBOARD (June 14, 2016), https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7407926/security-experts-new-normal-challenges- and-logistics-concert-safety [https://perma.cc/D9TG-JHU9]. 4. See Jason Chervokas & Vanessa Wilkins, Justin Bieber Cancels Tour Meet-and- Greets, ABC NEWS (Mar. 23, 2016, 2:20 PM), https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/justin- bieber-cancels-tour-meet-greets/story?id=37866933 [https://perma.cc/8PDN-KW22]. 5. See Ben Sisario, New Reality AFter Orlando Attacks: Dogs, Metal Detectors and Searches at Public Gatherings, N.Y. TIMES (June 13, 2016), https://www.nytimes.com/2016/ 06/14/us/new-reality-after-orlando-attacks-dogs-metal-detectors-and-searches-at-public- gatherings.html [https://perma.cc/8AYU-DDCL]. 442 BELMONT LAW REVIEW [Vol. 7:440 promoters in the wake of violent incidents. Part II of the Note examines the current state of event security legislation, event safety suggested guidelines from the Event Safety Alliance and the Events Industry Forum, and the ways in which existing legislation fails to adequately prepare event venue owners and promoters to provide sufficient security measures. Part III of the Note explores the manner in which a major venue fire shaped legislation and regulations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as to fire safety, providing a useful illustration of how legislation can address safety issues connected with acts of violence. Part IV presents model legislation aimed to better regulate venue security and to address associated liability issues. Finally, Part V addresses the reasoning behind the model legislation. I. RECENT VIOLENT INCIDENTS AT EVENT VENUES AND TORT LIABILITY Recent violent incidents at venues and the crowd panic after perceived danger at live events demonstrate how unpreparedness for potential violence can cause unnecessary loss of life and injuries. Violent incidents at venues have already raised questions of whether venue owners and promoters should face tort liability. As more violence against artists and attendees at live events occurs, such incidents will become even more reasonably foreseeable and could continue to open up venue owners and promoters to tort liability. A. Recent Violent Incidents at Event Venues Incidents of violence or close calls at events highlight the need for standard security regulations to preserve artist and fan safety and, in cases where violence still occurs, to lessen injuries or casualties. For example, increased interactions between artists and their audiences stir questions regarding how to protect artists from individuals who wish to cause them harm rather than ask for an autograph. Meet-and-greets with fans have become a booming source of revenue for touring artists. They can bring in revenues often “50 percent to 100 percent higher than the face value of a ticket,” sometimes more when tied to sponsorship agreements, even for established artists; meet-and-greets can be particularly helpful for emerging artists trying to build or expand their fan bases.6 The experiences, such as photo opportunities or private performances, build upon the social media- fueled perception that artists should be easily accessible to fans.7 However, as meet and greets with fans become more frequent, more questions arise as 6. Ray Waddell, Meet-and-Greets and Close Fan Interactions, a Financial Necessity to Many in the Industry, Face a ‘Nation of Rage’, BILLBOARD (June 15, 2016), https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7407998/meet-and-greets-nation-of-rage- financial-necessity [https://perma.cc/H83R-EVFS]. 7. Id. 2020] VENUE SAFETY AND LIABILITY 443 to how promoters and venue owners can ensure that artists remain safe during up-close and personal interactions with their fans, particularly in small venues with small budgets and small staff numbers.8 On Friday, June 10, 2016, musician Christina Grimmie performed at the Plaza Live theater in Orlando, Florida in front of a crowd of approximately 300 concert attendees.9 After the concert, as she signed autographs during a meet-and-greet, a member of the crowd that she did not know shot her twice, killing her; he then shot and killed himself after Ms. Grimmie’s brother tackled him.10 Police later discovered that her killer brought two pistols, two magazines, and a hunting knife into the venue. Although the venue searched arriving concert attendees with metal detectors or wands at most other events, only bag searches were in place on the night of Ms. Grimmie’s murder.11 Also, although signs posted outside of the venue stated that no weapons were allowed inside, the promoter, AEG, and the